Rucas Week 2017
by miissnoname
Summary: These are the pieces that I've written for rucas week on tumblr. 2017
1. Words are Forever

Rucas Week: Day one (canon verse)

This takes place after Girl Meets Rileytown.

Summary: Riley had just confronted her bully, but that doesn't mean the words the bully told her magically disappear. However, maybe with a little help from Lucas they can.

Word Count: 2,534

* * *

Riley had just gotten home from Topanga's, and she can feel the stickiness in her hair from the ice cream. She and her friends had gone to her mother's bakery after school, after she had confronted her bully, to have celebratory ice cream. But, Riley should have known that it was also going to be Maya getting even with the frozen dessert, and that is what Maya did.

Riley had used the fact that she was sticky as an excuse to come home; she really just wanted to be alone. Even though she had confronted her bully, and she felt good for that moment, the words of her bully still hid in the dark corners of her brain—and they were slowly starting to come out into the light.

An hour goes by, and Riley is sitting in her bed in clean clothes with her clean hair. But, her mind is still very tainted. To make matters worse, Riley scrolls through the messages in her phone rereading them. She doesn't know why she hadn't deleted them because she knows she should, but something inside of her won't let her. She thinks maybe everything her bully told her was true.

Tear slide down Riley's cheek, and no matter how quickly she wipes them away new tears are racing down.

A soft knock at Riley's window startles her, and she quickly tucks her phone under her leg. She knows whoever is out there can't see her phone, but she had been hiding her phone for weeks that it became instinctual. She tries her best to discreetly wipe her tears. She lets out a long sigh before turning her attention to her window, and there standing there is no other than Lucas.

His eyes drop when he sees her tears glossed over. Riley smiles weakly at him, and he does his best to return it. However, his main concern right now is why is Riley crying. He thought everything was going to be okay with her after today, but seeing her now he knows that isn't the case.

Riley slowly unfolds her legs and pushes herself off the bed, and she tentatively walks to the window and opens it for Lucas. Riley steps aside making room for him to step inside and takes a seat on the bay window.

"Hi." Riley looks down at her interlocked fingers in her lap, and Lucas can hear the crack in her voice.

Lucas is a little hesitant to take a seat next to Riley. Not because he doesn't want to, but because he didn't want to startle her. He slowly lowers himself next to Riley with his eyes glued on her trying to figure out what is going on in that mind of hers.

"Riley," he starts his voice soft, "what's wrong?" She doesn't say anything; she only shakes her head. He wants to push for answers, but he knows that will be no good. Riley will talk when she wants to talk, but no matter what she says Lucas has to remind himself not to become Texas Lucas.

 _He_ had made an appearance this week, and Lucas can still see the way Farkle looked at him when he broke the towel racks he was tied to. But more importantly, he can still see the Riley looked at him as if she didn't recognize him at all—and he never wanted her to look at him like that again.

The both sit there silently. Riley wanted to be alone, but she knows Lucas isn't going to go anywhere. Riley knows she wouldn't if she had just witnessed one of her best friends crying. She would sit with them until they were ready to speak.

Minutes tick by, and no words are spoken, but neither one is bothered by it. Riley stares at her name twiddling her thumbs, and Lucas has no looked away from her. Riley knows eventually she is going to have to speak up.

"Why are you here?" Riley finally manages to ask Lucas.

She looks up from her hands, and her eyes find his. "I was worried." He clears his throat. "We were at Topanga's talking and laughing. I thought we were having a great time. But, then Maya had gotten you back with the ice cream and it changed. When you went to go to the bathroom to clean the ice cream off, you came back and you were quiet. Then, you used the excuse that you needed to wash the ice cream out of your hair. I believed it at first, but when Maya offered to go with you, you told her no…You never tell Maya not to go somewhere with you. You two are attached at the hip. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what."

Lucas searches her eyes not really sure what to look for. He had missed all the signs of her getting bullied, and he'll admit he was bothered that Farkle was able to figure out what was going on with Riley before he could. He should have been able to tell something was wrong with Riley when her smile slowly started to dwindle. He should have known, but he didn't.

However, this time the second he saw her walk back from the bathroom with her eyes on the floor carefully watch each step, he knew something was wrong, and he wasn't going to wait.

"Maya was going to come and check on you, but Katy needed her home. Farkle was going to come, but…" Lucas rubs the back of his neck, "I asked him not, so I can come. I just needed to make sure you were okay."

Riley slowly releases a shaky breath and looks away from Lucas. She looks straight ahead at her phone laying on her bed, and the words her bully sent her play in her head. Lucas follows her line of sight, and he wonders why she would be staring at her phone. Then, it hits him.

"Riley," his greens eyes lock back on Riley, but she refuses to look away from her bed, "are…are you still getting text messages?" He is praying and hoping she'll say no. He doesn't know what would happen if she said yes. He isn't sure if he would be able to stop Texas Lucas from making an appearance.

Riley shakes her head, and Lucas lets out a sigh of relief. "But, that doesn't mean I forgot the words," Riley mumbles.

"What?" Lucas asks not catching what she said.

"Nothing." She is quick to say and stands up. A piece of Riley wants Lucas to drop it, but an even bigger piece is hoping he'll pry.

She takes a few steps towards her bed, and she waits for him to say something, anything really. But, as seconds pass, and his voice is yet to fill her room the hope quickly dissolves. Maybe her bully is right. She sits on the foot of her bed making sure Lucas can't see her—and the tears that are starting to surface in her eyes.

Lucas hears Riley sniffle, and he can feel his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He doesn't think he has ever seen Riley so broken. Sure, he has seen her upset, but not to the point where she is crying. He warily walks towards her. Riley is distraught, and the last thing Lucas wanted to do was scared her because his presence isn't wanted.

"You know it's okay to talk to me," he says a few feet away from her. He watches her wipe the few tears that had fallen before she looks up at him, and his heart breaks, even more, when he sees the sadness that lingers in her eyes. "Riley, please talk me. What's wrong?" he pleas to her.

"How am I supposed to forget everything that was said to me? How do I erase everything from my mind?" A tear falls down Riley's cheek, and she is quick to wipe the away—Lucas wishes it was him who wiped them away. "I reread the messages, and a voice inside of me is telling me everything the bully said is true."

"Of course, it isn't true," Lucas says.

Riley shakes her head, and she lets out a small laugh. "How could you possibly know? You don't know what I was sent." She blinks a few times trying to stop the tears from falling.

"C-can I see the messages?" Lucas asks before he can think, and once he rises what he had just said, his eyes widen. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. That's your privacy, and I have no right."

Riley looks at him, and without saying anything she reaches behind her and grabs her phone. She looks at it for a second before extending her arm out to Lucas, and he stares at it. "It's okay."

Lucas takes it from her hands. He's a little scared of what he's going to see, and if he'll be able to control his anger. His finger hovers over the home button, and he's having second thoughts about whether he should read them or not. But, when he hears the girl, who he deeply admires, sitting in front of him sniffling, those second thoughts vanish. He takes a deep breath before unlocking Riley's phone, and that's when he sees the messages one after another from an unknown number.

 ** _You exist and you're weird, and you get in the way of where I'm looking. So stop being weird and stop being happy. No one should be as happy as you. Stop being who you are. Or I'm gonna put my foot in your weird, stupid face._**

 ** _I don't even know how you have friends. They'll realize they can do better and leave._**

 ** _And Lucas, don't get me started there. It's never going to happen. He only likes you out of pity. You'll never be good enough for him._**

Lucas couldn't read anymore. He can feel his blood boil, and he tries his best to compose himself. He knew she was being bullied, but he never knew what was being said. And now, that he knows, he almost wishes he never read them.

He looks to Riley, and he wants to wrap her in arms, but something is telling him that now isn't the best time. He slowly sits next to her. "Riley, why do you still have these?" He can't fathom why someone would say these things to Riley, and why she would keep them on her phone.

Lucas waits for her to answer the question, but she only shrugs her shoulders "Nothing this person said is true. None of it." Lucas looks away from Riley's phone and to her, and it's almost seeing her broken, seeing her hurt, that gives Lucas courage to be brave because right now Riley needs words to make these awful ones disappear.

"You are not weird. You are this extraordinary person in this ordinary world, and your happiness, your smile, it makes everything in this ordinary world brighter. You should never stop being happy. The day you stop being happy and you stop smiling is a day I do not wish to see. And, you, Riley are beautiful." He smiles at her, and he's trying his best to continue because he needs to know that the rest of the words he read on her phone are only lies. "Our group of friends would be completely lost without. You are the one who brought us all together, and we need you. You're the one who keeps us all together, who keeps us smiling."

He takes a deep breath. "And what they said about me a-and you," Lucas starts nervously, "they couldn't be more wrong. Riley, I really really like you. I like you for you, and all the quirky little things you do. Like twirling when you're happy, your British Riley voice, your ability to care as much as you do about everything no matter how small. And, when we do become a couple, I'll be the lucky one to be with someone as amazing as you."

He stops talking, and Riley stares at him, his words running in her mind counteracting with all the negative words, but one word stood out more than anything, a simple word.

"When?" Riley's voice is low and hoarse, and Lucas nods with a slight grin.

"Yes, when. I, just…I thought that's where we were heading w-with our relationship," Lucas stammers a bit.

"It is." Riley giggles and Lucas sees her tears drying.

"I know these words aren't going to disappear right away, and sometimes they'll creep in, but when they do, remember everything I just said. Because Riley," their eyes lock, "what I'm saying is the truth."

Neither one looks away, neither one speaks, they just stay there locked in each other's gaze. Lucas is the one who looks away first, and Riley watches him look down at her phone. Without saying a word, Lucas selects the thread of messages on Riley's phone, and hits delete and then hands it back.

"You didn't need to keep those messages in your phone," Lucas says. He parts his lips but stops when he feels his phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out to see a text message from his mom. "I have to go. I told my mom I'd be back in an hour for dinner."

He stands up and moves towards the window, and Riley is right behind him. He turns on his heels to face her, and he can see something different in her eyes from earlier. He sees a glimmer of light make its way to the surface, and he knows it isn't long before the light shines through.

"Thank you, Lucas, for everything," Riley says as she steps forward wrapping her arms around Lucas, and he wraps his around her. Lucas can feel Riley's heart racing, and Riley can feel his racing as well.

Their hug lingers because neither one wants to unlatch themselves from the other, but their embrace is interrupted by Lucas' phone vibrating again. He pulls it out to see another message from his mom telling him he is late.

Riley watches Lucas maneuver his way through her window, and her heart starts racing when Lucas turns around on last time to smile at her.

It is a minute after Lucas leaves that Riley hears her phone _ding_ with a notification, and her heart drops. Nerves start feeling her stomach about the possibility that it might be a new bully or the same bully. Every time her phone goes off that is her first though. She turns around to stare at her phone, and she cautiously walks back to her bed where her phone lays.

However, when she picks it up the pitter patter in her chest quickens. She looks down to see a new message from Lucas.

 ** _I just want to tell you that you, Riley Matthews, are perfect exactly the way you are._**

Her eyes scan the screen, and she can feel her heart still racing. "Some messages are worth keeping," she whispers to herself with a smile playing on her lips.


	2. The Touch that Lit the Flame

Rucas Week: Day two (holding hands)

Word Count: 1,106

Summary: Lucas remembers the first time he held hands with Riley on their first date as a couple, and how it made him feel.

* * *

Hand holding has become a favorite thing to Lucas since he first held Riley's hand. He never knew how many feelings could be stirred up inside him with something so simple, but when he feels Riley's hand in his, a wide range of feelings overcome him.

He feels the fluttering of the butterflies building in his stomach. He feels the clippity clop in his chest quicken, but at the same time slow down. He feels contentment like he's never felt before. Most importantly, he feels safe—he feels home whenever Riley's hand is in his.

Lucas can remember the first time he and Riley went to the movies as a couple, and their hands brushed against each other. What he remembers most is both of them pulling away because it's what they were used to.

When the group of friends went to the movies together, before Riley and Lucas became a couple and during the triangle, Lucas was always stuck in the middle of Riley and Maya. It was an uncomfortable place for Lucas, but quite possibly one of his favorites as well—it was also the only place he never evened up anything.

During those trips to the movies, Lucas would "accidentally" touch Riley's hand, and they both would let the touch linger for a second or two before either realized what was happening and pull away. He would steal glances at Riley throughout the movie, happy for the darkness of the theater that hid all the stolen moment between him and Riley—happy he never had to even it up.

So, their first date to the movies as a couple took Lucas back to that time when he and Riley's hands brushed. He had pulled away before, but when he realized that he no longer had to do that, he worried he had discouraged Riley when Lucas saw her tuck her hands underneath her legs. He remembers cursing to himself in his head, and he worried he ruined their date. So, when Riley reached into the bowl of popcorn, and that's when he reached as well, their hands touching. He remembers Riley looking at him, and he swore her eyes lit up the entire theater. He remembers the shy smile that played on her lips mimicking his. He waited for her to pull away, and once she did he was going to grab her hands; however, she didn't. She was the one who grabbed his and interlocked their fingers.

Lucas remembers holding Riley's hand the rest of that night. He remembers the lightness he felt in his chest and the tingling in his hands. He never knew he could feel such amazing things from holding hands, but he knew it wasn't the action it was the person. It was Riley Matthews who made him feel all those things.

"Daddy?" A little girl's voice grabs Lucas' attention.

He looks down to his daughter, who is the exact image of her mother, just smaller, and a smile instantly consumes his face. He feels her grip tighten around his hand, and he feels everything Riley once made him feel only a little different. With Emma's hand in his, it makes him feel as if he needs to be her protector, her hero. "Yes, Emma."

"Where's mommy?" she asks a little low.

Lucas stops walking along the sidewalk, making his daughter stop as well. He squats down so he is eye level with her. "Well, Emma she's-" he is interrupted mid-sentence when he hears someone shouting their names.

"Lucas! Emma!" The two turn their heads, and as soon as their eyes land on the person smiles plaster across their lips.

"Mommy!" Emma lets go of Lucas' hand and darts over to Riley, who is stepping out of a cab a few feet away.

Lucas becomes stuck in a trance watching his wife and daughter. He watches Riley grab Emma into her arms and the two twirl around. And from where he stands, he can hear Emma and Riley's laughter and he feels the corner of his lips tug upwards.

He pulls himself back to reality and trollops over to the two brunettes who hold his heart. "I thought you said you weren't going to be coming home until tomorrow," Lucas says once he is standing in front of them.

Riley looks away from Emma and to her husband, and he can feel his breath hitch at the sight of her eyes. She has only been gone for a night, for a trip Maya had insisted she go on, but that night felt never ending, so staring into her eyes Lucas felt an easiness wash over him.

"I was, but I couldn't miss this princess' first dance recital." Riley tickles Emma with her free hand making Emma giggle. "Maya understands, at least I hope," Riley says with a chuckle.

Riley sets Emma down, and Emma starts spinning around wanting to show her mother her baby blue tutu, and after a few spins, Emma's bun undoes, and her long brown locks cover her face making them all laugh.

"Did daddy do your hair?" Riley lowers herself to push Emma's hair out of her face and tucks it behind her ears, and Emma nods. Riley looks up to Lucas. "I can see you tried very hard." She chuckles.

"I did. I actually thought I did a great job."

Emma leans towards Riley. "I like when you do my hair. You do better than daddy." She tries to whisper, but Lucas hears.

"What?" Lucas places his right hand over his chest. "You told me you loved it. I am hurt." He holds his other hand over his face hiding his eyes, and it doesn't take long for him to feel tiny arms wrapped around him.

"I didn't mean to make you sad, daddy."

Lucas doesn't think twice about scooping Emma up into his arms. "I know." He kisses her forehead.

Riley stands up and looks at her family, and Lucas shifts Emma to his hip not wanting to set her down. "We should hurry and get there, so I can fix Emma's hair." Lucas and Riley take a few steps before he feels her smoothly intertwine her fingers in his.

Lucas glances down at their hands, then up to Riley, who is already looking at him with eyes that dance and a smile that radiates warmth. And just like that, Lucas feels the rhythm in his chest faster, the swarm of butterflies in his stomach wakes up, and the feeling of happiness submerge him. After years of holding hands with Riley, the feelings that she made him feel has never dwindled.


	3. Texas and the Moment

Rucas Week: Day Three (one exception)

Here are _Day One_ and _Day Two_ fanfics.

Word Count: 2,128

Summary: What happens if Riley went back to the campfire because she realized she made a mistake. But when she gets there, she sees the moment Lucas and Maya shared by the flames.

* * *

Last night Riley had told Lucas she loved him like a brother; the opposite of what she felt for him, but Riley was doing what she thought was best for everyone. She stayed up all night tossing and turning trying to forget the events that unraveled, but nothing seemed to work. The only thing that played in her head is Lucas' smirk slowing deflating.

Tonight, the group of friends were enjoying a night under the stars with the flame of the campfire lighting their face. It was supposed to be a nice evening, but it changes once Riley reveals to Lucas that Maya likes him, and she was shocked when he only seemed to be concerned about he and Riley's relationship. But, Riley she was only thinking about Maya. Maya likes Lucas. Maya deserves happiness in her life. So, Riley had to make Lucas believe that she only saw him as a brother. Maya deserved a chance—no matter how much it hurt Riley—so Riley grabs Farkle, and the two left, leaving the two blondes alone.

Riley doesn't say anything the entire way back to the house, and Farkle doesn't push her to. He knows something is off, and he had his suspicions what it was, but he didn't want to push Riley not when she seemed on the verge of tears.

They are just outside the house when Riley stops in her tracks. She had been thinking the whole way here, and the words of Lucas running around in her head.

 _Riley, what are we?_

Those were his first words when she made the proclamation of Maya's feelings for him. Lucas' thoughts were of him and Riley, but was she thinking too far into it.

 _What if that's not what I think we are?_

She wanted to agree with him. She wanted to tell him she was wrong, but she couldn't. Why couldn't she? Her feelings matter too, and that's when it hit her. She made a horrible mistake.

Without saying a word, she turns on her heels and starts to run back to where she left her unofficial boyfriend and best friend. The closer she gets Riley can hear Maya and Lucas bickering. Maybe they weren't great for each other.

However, as she steps closer she watches Lucas and Maya in the shadows of the night, and she thinks that maybe she did do the right thing. She shouldn't have listened to her heart, she shouldn't have turned around. She should have just continued the few steps, and she'd be back at the house with Farkle enjoying a bowl of ice cream. If she hadn't had come back, then she wouldn't have seen Maya's face cupped between Lucas' hands. She wouldn't have seen the way their eyes got lost in one another. She wouldn't have seen the way Lucas slightly leaned forward, and she wouldn't be running through the wooded area with tears blurring her vision with a throbbing in her chest.

She runs and runs not really sure where she is going, all she knew was she couldn't watch the two of them any longer. She couldn't watch Lucas close the gaps between his and Maya's lips. She felt her heart breaking more and more with each breath she takes. Riley hadn't realized the extent of her feelings for Lucas until she saw him in a picture perfect moment with someone who wasn't her, and in that moment Riley knew.

She knew she didn't just like Lucas, and she knew for sure she didn't love him as a brother. Riley knew that her feelings for Lucas are far more stronger. Is it possible she loves him? Isn't she too young for love?

The tightness in her throat, the constriction is her lungs, the aching in her chest, and the turning in her stomach all said something else. She felt herself crumbling and her limbs going weak, but the only thing that kept her moving is needing to get as far away as possible from the two teens—her best friend and the boy she quite possibly loves—sharing a moment.

Riley keeps moving until she feels herself hit something, and when she looks up she sees a wide-eyed Farkle looking at her. Riley doesn't say anything, and Farkle doesn't need her to. He knew it had something to do with Maya and Lucas sitting by the campfire. He had no idea what happened, but by the shape, Riley was in, he couldn't imagine it being anything good.

Farkle doesn't think twice about wrapping his arms around Riley and pulling her towards him. He feels her body trembling against hers, and he hears her shallow breaths. He knew Riley declaring she loves Lucas as a brother was bogus. There was no way Riley loved Lucas as a brother, not with the way Farkle has seen Riley gaze at Lucas. It isn't possible.

"Farkle, I ruined everything!" Riley's voice a little hard to understand through her sobs. "Why did I say that? Why did I tell Lucas I was his sister and he was my brother?" she cries.

Farkle slowly exhaled. He knew why. He knew Riley would do anything for Maya, but Farkle can't help but think maybe Riley was wrong. She was wrong to put someone's—anyone's—feelings before her own. Farkle looks up from the crying brunette in his arms, and he sees two figures emerging from the darkness—the same two people who are the cause of Riley's tears.

The two spot Farkle holding a whimpering Riley, and they share one look, a look of guilt. Was it Riley that they heard in the darkness? Did she see what happened between the two of them? Lucas and Maya walk towards the two embracing friends, and Farkle waits until they are merely a few feet away before he speaks.

"Well, don't you love him as a brother? If you didn't feel that, why would you say it?" The words sound harsh, and Farkle immediately wants to apologize, especially, because Riley is in so much pain. He feels her pull away from him, and she is taken back by his words but he continues. "Explain what was going through your head when you told Lucas that you love him like a brother."

Lucas is the first one to stop, and when he sees Maya still moving, he holds out his arm to stop her. She furrows her eyebrows in frustration. Why wouldn't Lucas let her go comfort her best friend? "Huc-" Lucas doesn't let her finish. He holds a finger to his lips hoping she'll be quiet because he needs to know what Riley is going to say. What was going through her mind?

Riley looks at Farkle, and he can see pain in her eyes, and the light that once lit a candle in her brown eyes was blown out welcoming the darkness. Riley mouth slowly opens, her chin trembling, but no words come out.

Farkle knows Riley is hurting right, but he looks pass her, over her shoulder, to Lucas and Maya. He sees the look of need on Maya'a face. The need to comfort Riley to hold her while she cries, but Maya needs to know that she is the reason behind her cries. He shifts his line of sight to Lucas, and Farkle sees pain, the look of pain that matches Riley. Farkle didn't want to push Riley, but he knew that is what needs to be done.

"Riley, talk. Just talk to me. It's just you and me." He lies, and he hopes he won't regret it. "I'm here. I'm one of your best friends. You can tell me anything."

Riley looks up from her hands, and when Farkle sees her face, he sees fresh tears in her eyes. "I love him, Farkle." She wipes the tears that have fallen.

"As a brother?"

Riley shakes her head. "No, not like a brother. I love him, and I didn't realize until…" more tears form in her eyes, "until I saw them together by the fire underneath the stars sharing a moment."

Farkle looks at Lucas, and he sees Lucas staring at Riley in disbelief. Did Lucas hear Riley right?

"Riley," Farkle places a hand on Riley's shoulder, "Why did you tell Lucas you love him like a brother?"

She releases a shaky breath and using the back of her hand to brush away more tears. "I thought I was doing the right thing. Maya deserves to be happy, she deserves to have someone, and maybe that happiness, that someone, is Lucas. I was just in the way, so I took myself out. I don't know what I was thinking when the were tumbling out of my mouth. I stepped back just like she once did for me."

Farkle sighs. "You deserve to be happy just as much as Maya. You have to stop putting people's happiness above your own. Did you ever consider what Lucas is feeling through all of this?"

Riley doesn't say anything she only drops her head. She hadn't considered him. She overlooked the pain she saw in his eyes, but then she remembers the moment at the campfire between him and Maya. And the pain was the last thing she saw on his face.

"I did, and that's why I ran back. I ran back to tell him I was wrong, but…but" her eyes gloss over, "I got there and they were about to kiss, Farkle." There is a pause. No one says anything. Farkle can hear Riley try to swallow back her sobs. "H-he kissed her. He kissed someone who wasn't m-me," she chokes out, and that is when Lucas has had enough. He couldn't take anymore.

"I didn't kiss her." Riley's body tenses at the sound of his voice. She turns on her heels to see Lucas taking a step towards her.

"You didn't?" she whispers loud enough for him to hear, and Lucas shakes his head. He didn't kiss her. Why didn't Lucas kiss Maya?

Lucas continues to take steps. "I couldn't. If I did, it wouldn't have been fair to Maya, to me…to you." Riley allows her eyes to lock onto Lucas' once he is standing right in front of her. "Riley, you're the one I want."

Riley opens her mouth to say something, but she can't. Not because she doesn't want to be with Lucas, but because what about Maya. She couldn't do that to Maya. Riley looks at her blonde best friend, and their eyes meet, and it's with that one look Maya knew what was going to happen, and she needed to stop Riley.

Riley looks back at Lucas fresh tears building in her eyes, but before she can say anything Maya's voice grabs her attention.

"It's okay, Riles." Maya smiles softly at her. "I'm okay, but you aren't and you need to be." Maya moves to Riley wrapping her arms around the lengthy brunette. "So, be okay Riley. Follow your heart. I'm sorry I made that difficult for you," Maya whispers near Riley's ear.

Maya lets go of Riley. "C'mon Farkle. How about that ice cream?" Farkle nods, and Maya steps towards him looping her arm around his.

Riley watches her two best friends walk away before turning back to meet a pair of green eyes. "So, you don't see me as a brother?" Lucas asks. He needed to make sure everything he heard was correct and not some cruel trick his ears are playing on him.

"No."

"Riley, what are we?" Lucas repeats the question from earlier, hoping for a different answer.

"Wh-what do you want us to be?" Riley asks. She didn't want to say something because she wasn't sure if he still wanted the same thing, not after the unnecessary hurt she caused him in the last day.

He takes a small step forward being caring not to spook her. "I want us to be an us. I want to have my moment with you...Riley, I love you."

Her eyes widen at his revelation. "You do?"

Lucas nods with a smiling tugging on his lips. "I do." He thumbs away a fresh tear that slides down her cheek, but the smile on her face shows him it's a tear of joy.

Without thinking, Riley pushes her lips against his. She wasn't thinking. His words circled around her head, and the only thing she thought of was her lips on his. The kiss makes her heart race, her stomach do flips, and the feeling of uneasiness since last night wash away.

"I love you, too, Lucas," she says as soon as they break the kiss resting their foreheads against one another's.

"Not like a brother?"

She giggles. "Most definitely not like a brother."

Neither one pulls away from the embrace. The kiss, the words, the moment has been a long time coming and neither one was ready to break it just yet.


End file.
